Despite the transitional barren phase that Milan is going through they have shown a lot of progress. They have invested in youth, they are spending wisely in the market with getting in players such as Kessie, Rebic. Most Important for Milan is the playing style of their new manager Stefano Pioli. As for Juventus is concerned they have also been in a bit of a transitional phase having gone trophyless last season. Ronaldo having left the squad this year and new manager Allegri having to deal with certain systemic challenges with developing young talent and building a squad this time around.
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The current positions of them are quite contrasting with Juventus in 16th place and Milan in 2nd after 3 matchdays. We will take a quick look at what makes these teams tick ahead of this crucial encounter.
Why Should You be Watching?
Serie A is set to witness one of the most famous rivalries in Italian football. It’s Juventus and Milan. This rivalry has lost a bit of its fire that used to exist before the 2010s. It’s due to Juventus creating a massive gap between them and all others of its rival wise by winning successive major trophies. They also maintain superiority in their head-to-head matchups. Both teams have excellent players in their ranks and will be intent on winning this game. The Bianconeri will look to turn around their shockingly poor form in SerieA and cannot afford another debacle this weekend.
Build Up
Juventus are coming onto this game having won their CL tie comfortably against low opposition in Malmo. Milan whereas is coming back from a hard-fought match in which they lost 3-2 against a strong Liverpool side. It was an away game at a full capacity Anfield crowd.
Juventus: W-D-L-L-W
Milan form: W-W-W-W-L
Predicted Lineups
Juventus
Team XI– Wojciech Szczesny; Danilo,Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci,Alex Sandro; Rodrigo Bentancur, Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot, Federico Chiesa; Paulo Dybala, Alvaro Morata
Aaron Ramsey and Arthur are injured at the moment and have been ruled out of this match. Mattia De Sciglio and Kaio Jorge are struggling with their fitness and have also been sidelined this weekend.
AC Milan
Team XI: Mike Maignan; Theo Hernandez, Fikayo Tomori, Simon Kjaer, Davide Calabria; Sandro Tonali, Franck Kessie; Brahim Diaz, Rafael Leao, Alessandro Florenzi; Olivier Giroud
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has suffered another setback with regard to his fitness and will not be able to feature in this game. Rade Krunic and Tiemoue Bakayoko are also injured and have been ruled out of this match.
Players to Watch Out For
Juventus
Chiesa
Chiesa is a promising young prospect ready to take over the reins and spearhead a new era. If it is to be Pirlo staying at the helm to usher in a younger generation, he will look to the thriving Chiesa to be quite essential. The Italian could be the one to shoulder large portions of the responsibility to be the go-to-man in the future. It is not just in his goal contribution return that has aided the team; He has an admirable work ethic when Juventus are without the ball. He has a 56% success rate in tackles which is quite impressive for a winger.
Lastly, his versatility is a huge asset for Juventus, as he can play either on the right or left. He is comfortable on both sides. Deployed as an attacking right or left-winger, and also able to drop deeper as a defensive right or left midfielder. He has the potential to display his defensive ability when needed. He has also been deployed as a second striker or dropping just in behind the forwards.
Dybala
Dybala is the most important player in Juventus, he is the one who binds the departments. He has been at Juventus for five and a half years: he has an average of 20 goals per championship playing as number 10 but also running as number 8. Dybala has been able to carry the weight of the number on his shoulders and has been able to accept criticism with boldness. He is the symbol of the new Juventus who are for years trying to do well in the Champions League. He also made the Champions League final. His absence has given value to his presence.
AC MILAN
Theo Hernandez
Theo is one of the most exciting young full-backs in the game at the moment. Only 23, Hernandez has made over 80 appearances in two seasons with AC Milan, scoring 15 goals and providing 13assists. The Frenchman was a key player last campaign. His 13 goal contributions helped Milan finish second in the Serie A last season and return to the Champions League after a long absence.
Franck Kessie
Kessie is one of the best goalscoring midfielders in the Italian top flight. He has scored 35 times in over 170 Serie A appearances with 21 of those strikes coming from the penalty spot. Last season, the 24-year-old became the first Milan player in a decade to score more than penalties(11) in a SerieA campaign. The previous record belonged to Zlatan Ibrahimovich. Apart from his penalty-taking prowess, Kessie is a solid presence in the Milan midfield. A quite essential box-to-box midfielder, Kessie acts as an additional center-back when his team loses possession.
Conclusion
Juventus found their feet against Malmo in the Champions League this week and will need a similar performance this weekend. Allegri has a big task cut out for him this season. He will need to make the most of the talent at his disposal. AC Milan will want to step up as title contenders this season and have been flawless in the Serie A so far. The Rossoneri are the better team at the moment and hold a slight upper hand going into this crucial rivalry match.
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